Shared user driven clipping of multiple web pages

ABSTRACT

A digital content clipping system receives an indication that a first web page has been accessed by a first user, and searches a repository of digital content clips associated with the first web page. In accordance with a determination that the repository does not include any user-generated digital content clips associated with the first web page, the system offers one or more first clipping options based on predefined clip templates, receives selection, by the first user, of one of the first clipping options, extracts a digital content clip of the first web page in accordance with the selected one of the first clipping options, and stores the digital content clip of the first web page in a first clip collection associated with the first web page.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/433,295, filed Dec. 13, 2016, titled “Shared User DrivenClipping of Multiple Web Pages,” which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. This application is related to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/597,076, filed May 16, 2017, titled“Categorizing and Clipping Recently Browsed Web Pages,” which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Significant progress has been made on development of web clipping toolsrelated to content management. However, existing web clipping solutionsare insufficient in many areas, e.g., flexibility and adequacy of theclipping process. For example, a user visiting a web page with aparticular content item (e.g., a news article) may be presented with alimited set of standard clipping options that may be inadequate in termsof extracting the most relevant portions of the content (e.g., theessence of the article). Similarly, a user visiting multiple web pageswith similar content may be presented with limited clipping capabilitiesthat do not leverage preferences relevant to layouts or structures ofcaptured data.

SUMMARY

Many web clipping tools do not support separation of web browsing andclipping workflows and thereby cause content capturing issues. It isdesirable to design methods and systems for enhancing web clippingprocesses and experiences for better flexibility and adequacy of clippedmaterial.

In accordance with one aspect of this application, a method for digitalcontent clipping is implemented in a computer with a processor andmemory including one or programs executable by the processor. The methodincludes receiving an indication that a first web page has been accessedby a first user, and searching a repository of clip collectionsassociated with respective web pages for previously obtaineduser-generated digital content clips associated with the first web page.In accordance with a determination that the repository of clipcollections does not include any previously obtained user-generateddigital content clips associated with the first web page, the methodincludes offering one or more first clipping options based on predefinedclip templates, receiving selection, by the first user, of one of thefirst clipping options, extracting a digital content clip of the firstweb page in accordance with the selected one of the first clippingoptions, and storing the digital content clip of the first web page in afirst clip collection associated with the first web page.

In accordance with another aspect of this application, a computerincludes a processor and memory. The memory includes one or programsexecutable by the processor to perform the above-described method.

In accordance with another aspect of this application, a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium stores one or more programs configuredfor execution by a computer. The one or more programs includeinstructions for implementing the above-described method.

Other embodiments and advantages may be apparent to those skilled in theart in light of the descriptions and drawings in this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system layout and schematic diagram of an example contentclipping system including a browser application and a repository of userdefined clips in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example content clipping system fordirecting a new user's clipping process with crowdsourced clips inaccordance with some implementations.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example content clipping system foradapting previously chosen user defined clips to different but similarweb pages in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for an example content clipping method inaccordance with some implementations.

FIGS. 5A-5D are flow diagrams for an example content clipping method inaccordance with some implementations.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computer system that manages contentclipping in accordance with some implementations.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a server system that manages contentclipping in accordance with some implementations.

Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout thedrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An evolving new generation of unified content management systems, suchas the Evernote cloud service and multi-platform software developed byEvernote Corporation of Redwood City, Calif., changes informationprocessing workflow for hundreds of millions of home and office users.Some of the key features of these systems include their ability toeasily collect, navigate, organize, display and edit many differenttypes and formats of content, from web pages and typed notes tophotographed and scanned images, screenshots, portions of documents andemails, audio and video clips, media and document attachments, and othercontent.

In the age of information overload, user productivity increasinglydepends on efficient and seamless data capturing from various sources.For example, Evernote software and service show an extensive set of datacapturing tools for desktop and mobile platforms, including web, emailand document clipping applications and extensions, screen grabbing andmarkup components, page camera tool for instant optimal capturing ofdocument photos using smartphone and tablet cameras, utilities forscanner integration, file auto-import capabilities, drag-and-dropaddition of file attachments, Penultimate handwriting application andother data capturing capabilities used by dozens of millions of users.Additionally, integrated third party applications on the Evernoteplatform, such as IFTTT, FileThis, EverClip 2 and many more softwaretitles and services are facilitating data capturing into Evernote.Integration of Evernote with Outlook.com allows users to save Outlookemails directly into Evernote notebooks. Similar data capturingcapabilities are being developed within other content and notemanagement systems, such as Microsoft OneNote, Apple Notes, Google Keep,Simplenote, Quip, and other systems.

Web clips constitute a major portion of captured content in contemporarycontent management systems. Custom user projects in the office and athome, such as educational, scientific, industrial, market research,travel, home improvement, shopping and other designs in variousknowledge domains often start with web research, which typicallyincludes searching, surfing, comprehending, selective clipping,organizing and summarizing multiple web pages. Advanced web clippingsolutions, such as the Evernote Web Clipper, offer a broad range ofclipping and organizational options. This includes clipping a full page,a summary snippet of a page (a bookmark), a bare bone web address, anarticle or other principal content automatically extracted from the pageusing special web technologies, a simplified article formatted for easyreading, a user selection from the page, a screenshot of the page, etc.Additionally, preferred notebook(s) and/or tag(s) may be suggested forfiling and labeling a clip. A user may also be able to add a briefinstant remark. Related content items from existing content collectionsmay be displayed side-by-side with new clips reminding the user of pastresearch on a similar subject.

In accordance with various implementations of this application, acomputer system performs a content clipping method that includes:providing flexible clipping options with various standard and customlayouts, accumulating and categorizing clips captured by multiple usersfrom a single web page, compiling a “crowdsourced” repository of clips,offering new users previously taken clips and allowing users to carryclips beyond the original page and use them for clipping not only theoriginal page but also adapting them for clipping analogous pages. Insome implementations, the system also identifies users' clipping stylesand uses them for recommending subsets of previously accumulated clipsfrom web page repositories, where the previously accumulated clips ineach subset reflect the users' clipping styles.

FIG. 1 is a system layout and schematic diagram of an example contentclipping system 100 including a browser application 102 (also called aweb browser) and a content management application 104 (also called acontent management system) in accordance with some implementations. Thesystem 100 interacts with a web browser 102 (e.g., Chrome, Firefox,Safari, or other browser employed by a user) and a content managementsystem 104 (e.g., Evernote), where new clips may be filed and previouslyfiled clips may be stored, searched, organized and processed. The system100 also interacts with a cloud-based repository 106 of past custom userclips from various web pages accumulated, processed, stored and/orcategorized by page type (e.g. food, politics, news, shopping, etc.);sets of clips or clipping patterns chosen from the repository byparticular users; and user specific clipping styles represented by setsof characteristics and attributes and created based on users' pastclipping behaviors.

In some implementations, the content clipping system 100 performs thefollowing functions or a subset thereof:

1. Clipping a New Web Page

When a user opens a new web page 112 that has not been processedpreviously by other users of the system (e.g., the repository 106 doesnot include any previously obtained user-generated clips associated withthe new web page 112), the system 104 offers (also referred to as“recommends” and “causes to be displayed”) the user one or more standardclipping options 108 (also referred to as basic clipping options),including various arrangements of digital content 112 a-f of the webpage 112. Examples of standard clipping options 108 include a clip ofthe full web page, a summary snippet of the web page, a bookmark, a webaddress, an article or other principal content automatically extractedfrom the web page, a simplified article formatted for easy reading, auser selection from the web page, and/or a screenshot of the web page inimage or PDF format. Additionally or alternatively, the system 104offers the user one or more advanced clips 110 (also referred to as userdefined clips), including editable page layouts with uncompletedparameters or fields for the user to select, organize, or otherwisecomplete. In some implementations, uncompleted parameters include spacein the clip for adding graphical or textual portions 112 a, 112 d-f ofthe web page, or space in the clip for adding user-generated notes (alsoreferred to as comments and remarks). The advanced clips 110 allow theuser to organize multiple portions 112 a-f of the web page, with orwithout user remarks. Additionally or alternatively, the system 104offers the user one or more other types of clips which include digitalcontent from the web page.

The user selects a clipping option, and the system 104 captures adigital content clip corresponding to the user's selection. In someimplementations, the system 104 stores the clip and/or its layout in acrowdsourced repository 106 of web clips associated with the web pagefrom which the clip was taken. Throughout this disclosure, repositoriesare also referred to as clip collections, or alternatively referred toas including a plurality of clip collections, with each clip collectioncorresponding to a respective web page or web page category andincluding web clips that correspond to a respective web page or web pagecategory. In some implementations, the system 100 first obtains theuser's permission before storing the clip, any user-defined portions ofthe clip, or any user remarks added to the clip. In someimplementations, the system 104 stores the actual clip (possiblystripped of user-generated content such as comments). In someimplementations, the system 104 stores the clip's generic layout, suchas “Title, First Paragraph, Another Paragraph, Image XXX” (e.g., anassumption may be that the URL is always saved with a clip and doesn'tneed inclusion in the layout description). In some implementations,certain portions of the captured clip are filled with excerpts of pagecontent. For example, the user may re-arrange the content of a foodrecipe page so that it starts with a list of ingredients in analphabetical order, followed by a final serving step for the ready meal,and then step-by-step cooking instructions, each supplied with an imageif it exists on the page, no matter whether this layout was present onthe page. For example, while a basic clip 108 automatically includes thefirst paragraph of article body 112 f, an advanced clip 110 providesoptions for the user to fill in content 112 a-f. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 1, advanced clip 110 includes a numbered list ofcontent from the first and third paragraphs of article body 112 f, aswell as images 112 d in a customized layout (e.g., in a differentlocation and order than presented on the web page 112).

In some implementations, the system 104 keeps track of the user's pageclips, and when the user collects enough page clips (e.g., satisfies athreshold amount of collected page clips), the system 104 tracks theuser's clipping behavior and generates the user's clipping style (alsoreferred to as the user's clipping profile) based on the statistics ofthe clipped content stored in the repository 106. For example, theuser's clipping style may be characterized as “concise” (e.g., clipsinclude small portions of pages), “standardized” (e.g., clips usestandard options offered by the clipping application), “multi-fragment”(e.g., clips combine several disparate content fragments of respectiveclipped pages), and so forth. User styles may be used for recommendingcrowdsourced clips from the repository 106 for subsequent users whoaccess the web page 112, as further discussed below.

2. Accumulating and Utilizing Web Clips

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example content clipping system fordirecting a new user's clipping process with crowdsourced clips fromprevious users in accordance with some implementations. After one ormore users have clipped content from a web page 112, their clippingpatterns (e.g., full clips with actual page excerpts included and/oruser defined clipping layouts) are stored in a repository 106 associatedwith the web page 112, optionally subject to user permission andapproval as discussed above. In some implementations, clips arecategorized by various parameters, such as size, layout complexity,additional data supplied by the user, and so forth. A new user 202accessing a web page 112 with such a repository (e.g., the repository106 includes at least one previously obtained user-generated clipassociated with the web page 112) may utilize this crowdsourced systemstore in a variety of ways. For example, the system 200 processes userclipping styles of clips stored in the repository 106 and associatedwith the web page 112 to generate recommendations regarding preferredclips (e.g., clipping options that have been selected by other users)for the web page 112. Alternatively, the system 200 lists availableclips by categories, allowing the new user 202 to browse and chooseclips by category. Standard clipping options explained above are alsoadded to the set of available clips.

In some implementations, the system 200 displays a menu 204 of theavailable clips, from which a user (e.g., new user 202) selects adesired clip. As an example, the user 202 selects a clip 206 from themenu 204. Clip 206 automatically includes the heading 112 a and thefirst paragraph 112 g of the web page 112. Clip 206 also includes anincomplete field for additional content (e.g., displayed in the menu 204as “1 more paragraph”). In some implementations, the clip 206 initiallyincludes the automatically added content (e.g., the heading 112 a andthe first paragraph 112 g), and subsequently includes the user-addedcontent (e.g., second paragraph 112 h) upon being selected by the user.In some implementations, a notification 208 informs the user thatadditional customization is required before the clip can be saved. Afterthe user selects the custom content 212 (e.g., second paragraph 112 h),the clip (referred to as clip 210) displays both the automatic contentand the custom content 214.

In some implementations, the clipping process proceeds under variousscenarios, depending on the type of clip chosen by the user. If the userhas chosen a standard or a completed custom clip where all clippedcontent has been defined, the clip is captured and saved immediately.However, if the clip is not completed (e.g., a clipping template withcustom parameters that have not been completed), the system 200 requeststhat the user fill in the corresponding portions of the clip (e.g.,using a notification 208). For example, for a “Title, First Paragraph,Another Paragraph, Image XXX” clipping template, the system 200 clipsthe title and the first paragraph of the web page and prompts the userto select another paragraph and an image from the editable layout of thepage content to complete the clip.

3. Adapting Shared Clips to Similar Web Pages

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example content clipping system foradapting previously chosen user defined clips to different but similarweb pages in accordance with some implementations. In many cases, usersclip similar web pages and may benefit from unified clipping formats.For example, if a user 302 browses multiple food/cooking/recipe pages304 and has chosen a convenient clipping format 310 either fromcrowdsourced clip repositories 106 associated with one of the pages orby creating a user defined clipping template (e.g., from a recommendedclip template 308), the user may wish to apply such clips to other pages312 belonging to similar categories 306 in order to build a templatedriven clip 314. For example, layouts 110 (FIG. 1) and 314 (FIG. 3) arebased on similar templates (e.g., a list of ingredients or steps on theleft, and a list of images on the right), even though the content usedto fill in the templates is different (e.g., due to the source web pagesbeing different and, as a result, including different content).

In some situations, a new web page 312 belongs to a different web siteand does not follow the layout for which the desired clip has beenoriginally created. For example, if a clipping template 310 which wasadapted from similar food pages (e.g., page 112, see FIGS. 1-2), thetemplate may automatically search for the first two paragraphs toincorporate, as illustrated by clip 210 (FIG. 2). When the user 302accesses the new web page 312, the system 300 determines that the page312 belongs to the food category, and based on that determination,recommends clipping template 310. However, unlike page 112, new page 312does not have a list of paragraphs that can easily be used to fill inthe clipping template.

In some implementations, in order to adapt the recommended and/orselected clip 310 (e.g., clip with content, or clipping layout) to thenew page 312, the system 300 uses machine learning and advanced dataprocessing to analyze the new page content. Examples of such dataprocessing include name recognition (e.g., to identify ingredients in arecipe and group them in a needed portion of the template), layoutrecognition (e.g., to identify cooking steps that may be located in adifferent portion of the page and group them in a needed portion of thetemplate), and so forth. In some implementations, if the system cannotcomplete the adaptation task, the system requests additional input fromthe user for help in choosing between various options identified by thesystem or for help in identifying portions of the template manually(e.g., in the event the system cannot automatically locate theingredients, the user manually selects the portion of the web page thatincludes the ingredients). In some implementations, the system users theuser's manual selections to refine the adaptation task by adding theuser's finished clipping template to a repository of clipping templatesassociated with the particular category of web pages.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram for an example content clipping method 400 inaccordance with some implementations. In accordance with the contentclipping method 400, a user of a browser application opens (410) a newweb page 112. A content clipping application 104 determines (415)whether the user already has a preferred, stored, or preselected clippattern, and if so, determines (420) whether at least one of the user'sclip patterns fit the category of the web page. If so, then the userchooses (425) a clipping pattern for the page category to use for thepage, and the clipping application clips (430) the web page based on theuser's selected clipping pattern. If the user does not already have aclipping pattern, or if the user's clipping patterns do not fit thecategory of the web page, the clipping application determines (435)whether the page has any associated user defined clips (e.g., 110) in arepository 106 obtained from previous users.

If the page does not have any associated user defined clips, theclipping application offers (445) the user standard clipping options(e.g., 108) and editable page layouts (e.g., 206). The user selects aclipping option, and the clipping application clips (470) the web pagebased on the user's selection. The clipping application determines (475)whether the selected clip had been previously associated with the webpage. If the selected clip had been previously associated with the webpage, the method is complete. However, if the selected clip had not beenpreviously associated with the web page, the clipping application adds(480) the clip pattern to the repository 106 of user defined clipsassociated with the web page. The clipping application determines (485)whether to add the selected clip pattern to the user's clip patterns. Insome implementations, the clipping application prompts the user todecide whether to add the clip, and if the user decides to add the clip,the application adds (490) the clip to the user's saved clips.Alternatively, the clipping application automatically adds (490) theclip if it is not already added to the user's saved clips. Optionally,the clipping application modifies (495) the user's clipping style basedon the added clip.

If the page does have an associated user defined clip, the clippingapplication determines (440) whether the user has a preferred,preselected, or preassigned clipping style. If the user does not have aclipping style, the clipping application offers (450) the user a fullset of associated user defined clips. If the user does have a clippingstyle, the clipping application recommends (455) to the user a subset ofassociated user defined clips that fit the user's clipping style. Theclipping application determines (460) whether the user chooses or doesnot choose one of the offered or recommended associated clips. If theuser does not choose one of the offered or recommended associated clips,the clipping application offers (445) the user standard clippingoptions, and the method proceeds as described above. If the user doeschoose one of the offered or recommended associated clips, the clippingapplication clips (465) the web page based on the selected clip. Theclipping application determines (485) whether to add the selected clipto the user's clip patterns, and proceeds as described above.

FIGS. 5A-5D depict a flow chart of another example content clippingmethod 500 in accordance with some implementations. The method 500 isimplemented in a computer with a processor and memory including one ormore programs executable by the processor. A clipping application,either local to a user's computer (e.g., through a browser extension) orremotely located (e.g., on a server) receives (522) an indication that afirst web page (e.g., 112) has been accessed by a first user. In someimplementations, the indication includes information identifying the webpage, such as the web page's address. The clipping application searches(504) a repository of clip collections (e.g., 106) associated withrespective web pages for previously obtained user-generated digitalcontent clips associated with the first web page. The clippingapplication determines (506) whether the repository of clip collectionsincludes any previously obtained user-generated digital content clipsassociated with the first web page. If the repository does not includeany previously obtained user-generated clips associated with the firstweb page, the clipping application offers (508) one or more firstclipping options based on predefined clip templates (e.g., 108). If therepository does include a previously obtained user-generated clipassociated with the first web page, the clipping application offers(510) one or more second clipping options based on the previouslyobtained user-generated digital content clip(s) associated with thefirst web page. In some implementations, if the repository includes apreviously obtained clip, the clipping application offers a combinationof predefined clip(s) and previously obtained clip(s) (e.g., clips inmenu 204). The clipping application receives (512) selection, by thefirst user, of one of the offered clipping options, extracts (514) aclip in accordance with the selected clipping option, and stores theclip locally to the user's computing system (e.g., in a local cliplibrary 638) for the user's own benefit and future retrieval. In someimplementations, the clip is stored in a remote server system (e.g.,cloud storage), but is only made available to the user (e.g., stored ina private library accessible only to the user). In addition to storingthe captured clip locally, the clipping application also stores (516)the clip in a first clipping collection (e.g., 106-1, FIG. 7) associatedwith the first web page in a remote server for access by other users. Asdescribed above, in some implementations, when the clip is stored in arepository or clipping collection for other users, some content may beremoved (e.g., user remarks). In some implementations, only the cliplayout is stored, or an indication of which option was selected, so thatsubsequent users have more efficient access to the first user'spreferred layout or selection, while avoiding possible privacy issuesregarding the first user's added content (e.g., private remarks).

In some implementations, in the event that the clipping applicationreceives (518) an indication that the first web page has been accessedby a second user, the clipping application offers (520) third clippingoptions based on one or more clips stored in the first clip collection,such as the clip stored in step 516. Upon receiving (522) selection, bythe second user, of one of the third clipping options, the clippingapplication extracts (524) a clip of the first web page in accordancewith the selected clipping option, and stores (526) the clip in thefirst clip collection (e.g., 106-1). In this scenario, the first clipcollection would now have two user-generated clips, and in someimplementations, the clipping application offers both of theuser-generated clips to a subsequent visitor of the first web page. Insome implementations, the captured clip or certain components of thecaptured clip are stored locally, remotely, or a combination thereof asdescribed with reference to steps 514 and 516 above.

In some implementations, in the event that the clipping applicationreceives (528) an indication that a second web page, different from thefirst, has been accessed by the first user, the clipping applicationdetermines (530) whether the second page belongs to the same category asthe first page (e.g., categories 306). If the second page does notbelong to the same category as the first page, the clipping applicationsearches the repository for user-generated clips associated with thesecond page, and proceeds in a similar fashion as that described withrespect to steps 506-516, but from the perspective of the second webpage. If the second page does belong to the same category as the firstpage, the clipping application offers (534) one or more fourth clippingoptions based on the clips stored in the first clip collectionassociated with the first web page (e.g., if the second web page is afood page, and the first web page is also a food page, look in the firstweb page's clip collection for clips). In some implementations, theclipping application first searches the repository for a clip collectionassociated with the second web page (e.g., 106-2), and only uses clipsin the first clip collection if there are no available clips associatedwith the second web page. In some implementations, the clippingapplication offers a combination of clips from the clip collections forboth the first and second web pages. Upon receiving (536) a selection,by the first user, of one of the offered clips, the clipping applicationextracts (538) a clip in accordance with the selected clipping option,and stores (540) the selected clip in the second clip collection (e.g.,106-2) associated with the second web page. In some implementations, theclip or certain components of the clip are stored locally, remotely, ora combination thereof as described with reference to steps 514 and 516above.

In some implementations, the clipping application tracks the firstuser's clipping selections, and characterizes (542) a first plurality ofthe tracked clipping selections of successive clips from one or more webpages, and assigns (544) a clipping style to the first user based on thecharacterizing of the first plurality of selections. In someimplementations, the clipping application saves (546) the clipping styleto a profile associated with the first user (e.g., 640) and offers (548)clipping options for one or more subsequent clipping selections based onthe saved clipping style. In some implementations, the user's clippingstyle is continuously updated as more clipping options are selected andtracked. In some implementations, the clipping application saves aplurality of clipping styles for the user based on respective web pagecategories.

It should be understood that the particular order in which theoperations in FIGS. 4 and 5 have been described are merely exemplary andare not intended to indicate that the described order is the only orderin which the operations could be performed. One of ordinary skill in theart would recognize various ways to reorder the operations describedherein. Additionally, it should be noted that details of processesdescribed with respect to method 400 (e.g., FIG. 4) are also applicablein an analogous manner to method 500 described above with respect toFIG. 5, and that details of processes described with respect to method500 (e.g., FIG. 5) are also applicable in an analogous manner to method400 described above with respect to FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computer system 600 that manages contentclipping in accordance with some implementations. The computer system600, typically, includes one or more processing units (CPUs) 602, one ormore network interfaces 604, memory 606, and one or more communicationbuses 608 for interconnecting these components (sometimes called achipset). The computer system 600 also includes a user interface 610.User interface 610 includes one or more output devices 612 that enablepresentation of structured or unstructured information. User interface610 also includes one or more input devices 614, including userinterface components that facilitate user input such as a keyboard, amouse, a voice-command input unit or microphone, a touch screen display,a touch-sensitive input pad, a camera, or other input buttons orcontrols. Furthermore, in some implementations, the computer system 600uses a microphone and voice recognition or a camera and gesturerecognition to supplement or replace the keyboard. Optionally, thecomputer system 600 includes one or more cameras, scanners, or photosensor units for capturing images. Optionally, the computer system 600includes a microphone for recording an audio clip.

Memory 606 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM,DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices; and,optionally, includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magneticdisk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one ormore flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid statestorage devices. Memory 606, optionally, includes one or more storagedevices remotely located from one or more processing units 602. Memory606, or alternatively the non-volatile memory within memory 606,includes a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someimplementations, memory 606, or the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of memory 606, stores the following programs, modules,and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Operating system 616 including procedures for handling various        basic system services and for performing hardware dependent        tasks;    -   Network communication module 618 for connecting the computer        system 600 to other computer systems (e.g., a server system 700,        FIG. 7) via one or more network interfaces 604 (wired or        wireless);    -   Presentation module 620 for enabling presentation of information        (e.g., a graphical user interface for presenting application(s)        626, widgets, websites and web pages thereof, and/or games,        audio and/or video content, text, etc.) at the computer system        600 via one or more output devices 612 (e.g., displays,        speakers, etc.) associated with user interface 610;    -   Input processing module 622 for detecting one or more user        inputs or interactions from one of the one or more input devices        614 (e.g., a keyboard) and interpreting the detected input or        interaction in conjunction with one or more applications 626;    -   Web browser module 624 for navigating, requesting (e.g., via        HTTP), and displaying websites and web pages thereof in a        browser application 102;    -   One or more applications 626 for execution by the computer        system 600, including, but not limited to, a component 104 a of        content clipping application 104 and one or more other client        applications 630;    -   Client data 632 storing data associated with the one or more        applications 626, including, but is not limited to:        -   Account data 634 storing information related with accounts            of the user or the content clipping application 104;        -   Information database 636 for selectively storing a            navigation/browsing history 120 of the browser application            102, a content collection 116 of the content clipping            application 104, categories associated with content items of            the content clipping application 104, and the like;        -   Clip library 638 for storing the user's personalized web            clips (e.g., web clips including content of actual web pages            visited, user remarks, personalized layouts, and other            content added by the user for the user's own benefit and            later retrieval)        -   Clipping profile 640 storing one or more clipping styles            associated with the user and/or one or more web page            categories accessed by the user.

In some implementations, the content clipping application 104 isconfigured to at least partially implement the methods 400 and 500 forcapturing digital content clips of web pages accessed by the user.

Each of the above identified elements may be stored in one or more ofthe previously mentioned memory devices, and corresponds to a set ofinstructions for performing a function described above. The aboveidentified modules or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not beimplemented as separate software programs, procedures, modules or datastructures, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined orotherwise re-arranged in various implementations. In someimplementations, memory 606, optionally, stores a subset of the modulesand data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 606,optionally, stores additional modules and data structures not describedabove.

A person skilled in the art would recognize that particular embodimentsof the computer system 600 may include more or fewer components thanthose shown. One or more modules may be divided into sub-modules, and/orone or more functions may be provided by different modules than thoseshown. In some embodiments, an individual one of computer system 600implements or performs one or more methods described herein with respectto FIGS. 4 and 5. In some embodiments, a plurality of machines (e.g., alocal computer and one or more remote servers) together implement orperform one or more methods described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5. Forexample, a first computer system (e.g., a server) obtains a browsinghistory including pages displayed in current open tabs from a secondcomputer system (e.g., a local computer) via one or more wired orwireless communication networks. The first computer system categorizesdigital content obtained from the browsing history, generates anapplication window or tab, and enables display of the application windowor tab on the second computer system for its user to select a snippet ora fragment of a web page corresponding to a selected snippet in aclipping operation. The selected snippet or fragment of the web page areinserted as a content item into a content clipping application 104executed on the second computer system. More details on the contentclipping application 104 are discussed above with reference to FIGS.1-5.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a server system 700 that manages contentclipping in accordance with some implementations. The server system 700,typically, includes one or more processing units (CPUs) 702, one or morenetwork interfaces 704, memory 706, and one or more communication buses708 for interconnecting these components (sometimes called a chipset).

Memory 706 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM,DDR RAM, or other random access solid state memory devices; and,optionally, includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magneticdisk storage devices, one or more optical disk storage devices, one ormore flash memory devices, or one or more other non-volatile solid statestorage devices. Memory 706, optionally, includes one or more storagedevices remotely located from one or more processing units 702. Memory706, or alternatively the non-volatile memory within memory 706,includes a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. In someimplementations, memory 706, or the non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of memory 706, stores the following programs, modules,and data structures, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Operating system 716 including procedures for handling various        basic system services and for performing hardware dependent        tasks;    -   Network communication module 718 for connecting the server        system 700 to other computer systems (e.g., a computer system        600, FIG. 6) via one or more network interfaces 704 (wired or        wireless);    -   One or more applications 726 for execution by the server system        700, including, but not limited to, a component 104 b of content        clipping application 104 and one or more other server        applications 730; and    -   Clip repositories 106 storing user-generated digital content        clips associated with particular web pages (e.g., 106-1 for        storing clips associated with web page 1, 106-2 for storing        clips associated with web page 2, and so forth). Optionally,        each web page's repository also stores category information        (e.g., page category 306) specific to the web page.

In some implementations, the content clipping application 104 isconfigured to at least partially implement the methods 400 and 500 forcapturing digital content clips of web pages accessed by the user.

The implementations described herein provide benefits to users of webclipping applications in the form of more efficient and streamlined webclipping processes. For example, by providing a local web clippingapplication with access to web clips that have been edited or customizedby other (e.g., remote) web clipping applications (e.g., edited orcustomized by other users), the local application can provide morerelevant options to the local user, enabling more efficient capturing ofweb clips. Stated another way, by leveraging other users' customized webclips, a local user can more efficiently curate his or her owncollection of web clips. The local user does not have to reinvent thewheel and customize a new web clip for every new web page that the uservisits if the user's web clipping application has access to repositoriesof other users' web clips, especially if those web clips from otherothers have been found to be relevant to the web page that the localuser currently desires to clip. Moreover, by tracking clipping activityfrom a user and creating clipping profiles based on the user's clippingactivity, the various embodiments described herein provide additionalefficiencies in the web clipping process, not only for the user beingtracked, but for other users subsequently visiting web pages for whichprevious users have clipped. For example, if a user is only willing tospend a certain amount of time to customize a useful web clip for aparticular web page, the more streamlined web clipping implementationsdescribed herein would make it more likely that the user would not onlycapture more web clips, but also more productively spend the allottedtime for web clipping by customizing the content and/or layout of thevarious clips, thereby providing more useful and relevant clippingoptions for other users who subsequently access the particular web page.

Each of the above identified elements may be stored in one or more ofthe previously mentioned memory devices, and corresponds to a set ofinstructions for performing a function described above. The aboveidentified modules or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not beimplemented as separate software programs, procedures, modules or datastructures, and thus various subsets of these modules may be combined orotherwise re-arranged in various implementations. In someimplementations, memory 706, optionally, stores a subset of the modulesand data structures identified above. Furthermore, memory 706,optionally, stores additional modules and data structures not describedabove.

A person skilled in the art would recognize that particular embodimentsof the server system 700 may include more or fewer components than thoseshown. One or more modules may be divided into sub-modules, and/or oneor more functions may be provided by different modules than those shown.In some embodiments, an individual one of server system 700 implementsor performs one or more methods described herein with respect to FIGS. 4and 5. In some embodiments, a plurality of machines (e.g., a localcomputer 600 and one or more remote servers 700) together implement orperform one or more methods described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5.

Reference is made herein in detail to implementations, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the various described implementations.However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art thatthe various described implementations may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures,components, mechanical structures, circuits, and networks have not beendescribed in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of theimplementations.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.are, in some instances, used herein to describe various elements, theseelements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only usedto distinguish one element from another. For example, a first answerterm could be termed a second answer term, and, similarly, a secondanswer term could be termed a first answer term, without departing fromthe scope of the various described implementations. The first answerterm and the second answer term are both answer terms, but they are notthe same answer terms.

The terminology used in the description of the various describedimplementations herein is for the purpose of describing particularimplementations only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in thedescription of the various described implementations and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,structures and/or groups, but do not preclude the presence or additionof one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, structures, and/or groups thereof.

It is important to note that throughout this disclosure, “clips,”“digital content clips,” “clip layouts,” and “clip templates” arereferred to interchangeably, and in general, each term can besubstituted with another without changing the meaning or scope of theterm.

As used herein, the term “if” is, optionally, construed to mean “when”or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting”or “in accordance with a determination that,” depending on the context.Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated conditionor event] is detected” is, optionally, construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event]” or “in accordance with a determination that [astated condition or event] is detected,” depending on the context.

It is noted that the computer system described herein is exemplary andis not intended to be limiting. For example, any components and modulesdescribed herein are exemplary and are not intended to be limiting. Forbrevity, features or characters described in association with someimplementations may not necessarily be repeated or reiterated whendescribing other implementations. Even though it may not be explicitlydescribed therein, a feature or characteristic described in associationwith some implementations may be used by other implementations.

Although various drawings illustrate a number of logical stages in aparticular order, stages that are not order dependent may be reorderedand other stages may be combined or broken out. While some reordering orother groupings are specifically mentioned, others will be obvious tothose of ordinary skill in the art, so the ordering and groupingspresented herein are not an exhaustive list of alternatives. Moreover,it should be recognized that the stages could be implemented inhardware, firmware, software or any combination thereof.

The above description, for purpose of explanation, has been describedwith reference to specific implementations. However, the illustrativediscussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thescope of the claims to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theimplementations were chosen in order to best explain the principlesunderlying the claims and their practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best use the implementations withvarious modifications as are suited to the particular uses contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for digital content clipping,comprising: in a computer with a processor and memory including one orprograms executable by the processor to perform: receiving an indicationthat a first web page is being accessed by a first user; in response tothe indication, searching a repository of digital content foruser-generated digital content clips associated with the first web page;determining whether the repository includes any user-generated digitalcontent clips associated with the first web page; in accordance with adetermination that the repository does not include any user-generateddigital content clips associated with the first web page; while thefirst web page is being accessed by the first user, causing to bedisplayed one or more first clipping options based on predefined cliptemplates; receiving selection, by the first user, of one of the firstclipping options; extracting a first digital content clip of the firstweb page in accordance with the selected one of the first clippingoptions; and storing the first digital content clip of the first webpage in a first clip collection of the repository associated with thefirst web page; and in accordance with a determination that therepository of clip collections does include one or more user-generateddigital content clips associated with the first web page: while thefirst web page is being accessed by the first user, causing to bedisplayed one or more second clipping options based on at least one ofthe one or more user-generated digital content clips associated with thefirst web page, wherein at least one of the one or more second clippingoptions is not one of the one or more first clipping options; receivingselection, by the first user, of one of the second clipping options;extracting a second digital content clip of the first web page inaccordance with the selected one of the second clipping options; andstoring the second digital content clip of the first web page in thefirst clip collection.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or morefirst clipping options include a standard clipping option and/or acustom clipping option.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one ormore first clipping options include a standard clipping optioncomprising: a full reproduction of the first web page, a summary snippetof the first web page, a bookmark of the first web page, a web addressof the first web page, a fragment of content extracted from the firstweb page, content extracted from the first web page in a format for easyreading, a user selection from the first web page, or a screenshot ofthe first web page.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or morefirst clipping options include a custom clipping option comprising: aneditable page layout, or a template with an uncompleted parameter; andwherein the first user is prompted to edit the page layout or fill inthe uncompleted parameter, respectively, before storing the firstdigital content clip.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein storing thefirst digital content clip comprises storing web page content associatedwith the first digital content clip and storing one or more of a layoutassociated with the first digital content clip and storing a category ofthe first digital content clip.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theone or more user-generated digital content clips were obtained from oneor more users other than the first user.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein one of the second clipping options comprises a clipping templatebased on a clipping category corresponding to a category of the firstweb page.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving anindication that the first web page has been accessed by a second user;causing to be displayed one or more third clipping options based on thefirst digital content clip stored in the first clip collection;receiving selection, by the second user, of one of the third clippingoptions; extracting a third digital content clip of the first web pagein accordance with the selected one of the third clipping options; andstoring the third digital content clip of the first web page in thefirst clip collection associated with the first web page.
 9. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving an indication that a secondweb page has been accessed by the first user; comparing a category ofthe second web page to a category of the first web page; in accordancewith a determination that the first and second web pages belong tosimilar categories: causing to be displayed one or more fourth clippingoptions based on the first digital content clip stored in the first clipcollection; receiving selection, by the first user, of one of the fourthclipping options; extracting a fourth digital content clip of the secondweb page in accordance with the selected one of the fourth clippingoptions; and storing the fourth digital content clip of the second webpage in a second clip collection associated with the second web page.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: tracking a firstplurality of selections by the first user of successive digital contentclips from one or more web pages; characterizing the first plurality ofselections; assigning a clipping style to the first user based on thecharacterizing of the first plurality of selections; saving the clippingstyle to a profile associated with the first user; and causing to bedisplayed clipping options based on the saved clipping style for asecond plurality of selections by the first user of successive digitalcontent clips.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein: causing to bedisplayed one or more second clipping options includes causing to bedisplayed a user defined clipping template based on previously obtainedone or more user-generated digital content clips associated with thefirst web page that are in the repository; receiving selection of one ofthe second clipping options includes receiving selection of the userdefined clipping template; and extracting a second digital content clipof the first web page includes clipping the first web page using theselected user defined clipping template.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the repository is a crowd-sourced repository that can beaccessed by the user and one or more users other than the first user.13. A computer, comprising: a processor; and memory including one orprograms executable by the processor to perform: receiving an indicationthat a first web page is being accessed by a first user; in response tothe indication, searching a repository of clip collections associatedwith respective web pages for user-generated digital content clipsassociated with the first web page; determining whether the repositoryincludes any user-generated digital content clips associated with thefirst web page; in accordance with a determination that the repositoryof clip collections does not include any user-generated digital contentclips associated with the first web page: while the first web page isbeing accessed by the first user, causing to be displayed one or morefirst clipping options based on predefined clip templates; receivingselection, by the first user, of one of the first clipping options;extracting a first digital content clip of the first web page inaccordance with the selected one of the first clipping options; andstoring the first digital content clip of the first web page in a firstclip collection associated with the first web page; and in accordancewith a determination that the repository of clip collections doesinclude one or more user-generated digital content clips associated withthe first web page: while the first web page is being accessed by thefirst user, causing to be displayed one or more second clipping optionsbased on at least one of the one or more user-generated digital contentclips associated with the first web page, wherein at least one of theone or more second clipping options is not one of the one or more firstclipping options; receiving selection, by the first user, of one of thesecond clipping options; extracting a second digital content clip of thefirst web page in accordance with the selected one of the secondclipping options; and storing the second digital content clip of thefirst web page in the first clip collection.
 14. The computer of claim13, wherein: causing to be displayed one or more second clipping optionsincludes causing to be displayed a user defined clipping template basedon previously obtained one or more user-generated digital content clipsassociated with the first web page that are in the repository; receivingselection of one of the second clipping options includes receivingselection of the user defined clipping template; and extracting a seconddigital content clip of the first web page includes clipping the firstweb page using the selected user defined clipping template.
 15. Thecomputer of claim 13, wherein storing the first digital content clipcomprises storing web page content associated with the first digitalcontent clip, storing a layout associated with the first digital contentclip, and/or storing a category of the first digital content clip. 16.The computer of claim 13, wherein the one or more user-generated digitalcontent clips were obtained from one or more users other than the firstuser.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing oneor more programs configured for execution by a computer, the one or moreprograms comprising instructions for: receiving an indication that afirst web page is being accessed by a first user; in response to theindication, searching a repository of clip collections associated withrespective web pages for user-generated digital content clips associatedwith the first web page; determining whether the repository includes anyuser-generated digital content clips associated with the first web page;in accordance with a determination that the repository of clipcollections does not include any user-generated digital content clipsassociated with the first web page: while the first web page is beingaccessed by the first user, causing to be displayed one or more firstclipping options based on predefined clip templates; receivingselection, by the first user, of one of the first clipping options;extracting a first digital content clip of the first web page inaccordance with the selected one of the first clipping options; andstoring the first digital content clip of the first web page in a firstclip collection associated with the first web page; and in accordancewith a determination that the repository of clip collections doesinclude one or more user-generated digital content clips associated withthe first web page: while the first web page is being accessed by thefirst user, causing to be displayed one or more second clipping optionsbased on at least one of the one or more user-generated digital contentclips associated with the first web page, wherein at least one of theone or more second clipping options is not one of the one or more firstclipping options; receiving selection, by the first user, of one of thesecond clipping options; extracting a second digital content clip of thefirst web page in accordance with the selected one of the secondclipping options; and storing the second digital content clip of thefirst web page in the first clip collection.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein: causing to bedisplayed one or more second clipping options includes causing to bedisplayed a user defined clipping template based on previously obtainedone or more user-generated digital content clips associated with thefirst web page that are in the repository; receiving selection of one ofthe second clipping options includes receiving selection of the userdefined clipping template; and extracting a second digital content clipof the first web page includes clipping the first web page using theselected user defined clipping template.
 19. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 17, wherein storing the first digitalcontent clip includes storing a clip template of the first digitalcontent clip of the first web page in a first clip collection of therepository associated with the first web page.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein storing the firstdigital content clip comprises storing web page content associated withthe first digital content clip, storing a layout associated with thefirst digital content clip, and/or storing a category of the firstdigital content clip.